


The Truth

by dancinluv



Category: Sleepy Hollow (TV)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, The story will explain itself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-17
Updated: 2015-03-17
Packaged: 2018-03-16 19:19:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3499883
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancinluv/pseuds/dancinluv
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Abbie and Ichabod finally discover what they mean to each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

 

**Corbin's Cabin Early Morning Present Day.**

Ichabod makes his way to the door from his bedroom after hearing a faint knock a second before. When he opens the door, he eyes a young woman standing at his door way. He couldn't help but be awe stricken by her beauty. Her hair was long wavy dark brown, her skin was a dark caramel color with a hint of golden undertones, her eyes were light brown, and her attire was not fitting for the cold climate outside. She wore an off the shoulder beige mid drift top with a long beige skirt that hugged the curves of her voluptuous shape. It took Ichabod a minute to remember his manners and greet the young woman.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Hello Ichabod Crane."

He furrowed his brows in confusion cocking his head to the side "How - how did you know my name?"

She curves her mouth into a warm smile "It's time for you to remember" she raises her hand with her palm faced up and blows into it.  Green dust swirls in a small circle off of her palm into the air, floating into Ichabod's eyes. It all happened so fast that Ichabod didn't have enough time to shield his eyes to stop the particle from entering inside his pupils. He blinks his eyes rapidly and looses his focus. His eyes feel heavy, the woman's image looks like a blur, he collapses down falling backward onto the floor with a thump.

 

**At Abbie's House Late Afternoon Present day.**

Abbie was sitting on the couch browsing through the internet on her ipad playing a game of plants. vs. zombies. A hard knock at the door breaks her away from her concentration on a level she has been trying to beat for the past hour and a half. She looks at the door in annoyance then back at the game, pausing it and frustratingly puts the ipad on the coffee table.

Abbie takes her time getting to the door. She looks through the peep hole and sees a young woman standing outside. She unlocks the door and opens it.

"Can I help you?"

"No, but I can help you." The woman once again lifts up her hand and blows the green dust that she used on Ichabod to fly into Abbie's eyes. In a panic, Abbie rubs her eyes frantically, doing her best to get the dust out but it was too late when her arms drop heavily like dead weight by her side and her body sways as she plunges to the floor. 

 

**Back at Corbin's Cabin Two Days Prior to the Present Day at 1:30 am. Sleepy Hollow** **  
**

Rainfall is pounding against the glass window, lightening flashes in the distance behind a herd of tall oak trees swaying in the wind. Ichabod is sitting on the couch in front of the fire place, reading a chapter from a novel called "Time stands Still".  His head snaps up looking at the door when he hears a knock. He places the book down beside him, getting up from the couch and makes his way over to the door. He opens it slowly to view a soaked shivering Abbie standing before him.

"Sorry to disturb you at this time of night but can I come in?' her arms crossed around her chest, her body hunched over shaking. She s wearing a light blue jacket with a hood barely covering the front of her forehead. Crane steps aside and gestures his arm out for her to come in. She hurries inside as she pulls back her hood. She heads straight for the fireplace, standing in front of it, holding her hands out in front of her trying to warm them up. Crane closes the door shut.

"Is everything all right?" he inquired.

Abbie turns her head to peer at him over her shoulder showing him a weak grin "Yeah,,,, no,,, I had a bad dream." she spoke up to say. She looks at him with hardened eyes for a moment then lowers them down to the floor. He looks back to her with sympathy.

"I am sorry sleep had eluded you this evening. Do you care to discuss your dream?" He softly asked, leaning back against the wooden table in the dining area.

She shakes her head timidly no and stays quiet. Her eyes dart back to the flames that are dancing around the logs.

"Would you like to stay here for the remainder of the night?"

"You don't mind?" she turns her head to look back to him over her shoulder again.

"No, Not in the slightest. You can take my bed quarters." He strolls through the living room towards the kitchen.

"No Crane, I couldn't. I'll be fine on the couch." she watches him while he takes an iron pot from the lower cabinet underneath the sink and places it on the counter.

"Please do not argue with me Miss Mills. I will not hear of it. Your comfort Is what's most important to me." he turns on the faucet to fill the pot with water. She brings her attention back to the fireplace, rubbing her hands together to keep them warm.

"I would feel comfortable on the couch. I don't want to put you out of your bedroom and besides, this couch is too tiny for you anyway. I don't think you'll find much comfort sleeping here" she said gesturing to the sofa. "I think it's best you take your bed. I'm still tired enough to fall back asleep no matter where I lay my head."

He gives her an unsatisfied look for a brief moment and then goes back to prepping the water for the tea. He opens one of the cupboards and pulls out a square tin filled with earl grey tea bags. "Would you care for some tea?"

Abbie covers her mouth while yawning "Sure, why not. Maybe that'll help me sleep better. I'll try anything at this point." Ichabod whips his head over in her direction, inviting a dirty thought to pass through his mind at her comment. He couldn't believe he was allowing himself to think sex being a cure to her sleep dilemma. He felt shameful inside after thinking so intimately of her. He was well aware of his attraction for her but not to that extreme. He quickly dismissed the thought and opened the pantry door searching for some sugar and honey.

"Ah! here It is." he said to himself when he locates the sugar and honey. He pulls them out and places them beside the tin with the tea. "Would you like sugar or honey in your tea?"

"Neither, I'll drink it plain." She steps away from the fireplace and sits on the couch. Her eyes divert back to Crane. "Are we going to talk about what happened last weekend?" looking at him inquisitively trying to dissect what she can read from his facial expression to her question.

The spoon he acquired from the utensil holder slips out of his grasp making a loud clanking sound as it hits the floor. He bends down slowly to pick it up, His eyes lost and distant looking at the counter top, his face is flushed red. "I thought we agreed to never speak of what transpired."

"You agreed, I didn't. Now is a good time as any."

He looks down at his hand as he's twirling the spoon around his fingers like a baton. His adams apple bobs up and down as he swallows hard. "If we must."

She leans forward resting her elbows on her knees, clasping her hands together. "That night, I -I normally don't indulge in watching a lot of porn. What you saw - what you caught..." she closes her eyes for second searching for the right words to explain to him what his eyes had witnessed without him feeling more flustered than he already was. "....I shouldn't have did what I did in a public place. I thought I had the archives to myself that day. I assumed you were out with Jenny when you had told me you were running low on food for the cabin and were going to accompany her at the market. I didn't expect you to show up at the archives that evening. I thought I'd be quick but..."

His eyes look up at her "...but you announced my name during your - your- recreation." he stills the spoon in his hand.

"I was lost in the moment Crane. It slipped out. I didn't mean for it to." she voices softly.

 

**Flash Back Part 1**

**At the Big River National Park Forest A year and a Half Ago**

"It slipped out, what else do you want me to say." Abbie said in deep breaths as she is striding up a hill taking huge long steps forward to cover more ground but leaving her winded at the same time.

"Really? Some other mans name just slipped out of your mouth?" he voices unconvinced. "So it was his cock you wished was inside of you and not mine?" Crane questioned as he followed Abbie close behind.

"No, of course not. See this is why I can't talk to you. I didn't mean for his name to slip out of my mouth."

"No, of course you didn't. Just like you didn't meant to fuck a stranger in our bedroom on top of your dresser." he barks out sarcastically as he storms past her in fury."

She stops and glares heatedly at him as he walks ahead of her. "You have no damn room to talk. It's not the first time one of us had caught the other in an act of adultery." He stops and swings his head around looking at her appallingly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I-beg-your-pardon" she repeated mocking him in her best English accent. "Don't think I don't know about how you were on the phone late one night having a very enticing conversation with some bitch on the other line. Who is she or should I ask which one is she." she stares at him crossed for a moment before she continues "Hmmmm" she taps her finger to her chin glancing up at the tree beside her "let me guess..... I bet you were talking to that really cute brunette that was flirting with you at the theater two weeks ago."

"I have no idea to whom you're referring to."

"Oh come on, you seriously don't remember your friend Max's date, Shelly?. I'm sure you remember shelly. She had her eyes on you the moment Max introduced us to her, and I saw the way you were eying her up too. Don't think shit like that goes unnoticed." she spat out.

"I'm do not wish to get into this with you. Not here. Not now." he irately stated scowling at her pointedly. He turns around and moves onward up the trail.

"Ichabod!" she shouted after him. She takes quicker strides trying to catch up to him. "Why can't you own up to the fact you got caught. Just fess up and we'll call it even."

He halts in his tracks again, still facing the path ahead having his back to her, standing tensely straight holding on to the straps of his backpack. Loosing his patience, he bows his head down and lifts it back up letting out a frustrated sigh "I did not know you were standing by my study. I thought you were asleep."

"Does she do it for you?" she asked transitioning her anger into bitter hurt.

"No, no she doesn't. At the time yes, she did, but, not now. It matters not. You and I have destroyed what ever ounce of love or care we had for one another." He finishes in a cold tone as he walks on.

Abbie's pupils slowly filled with hurtful tears replaying his venomous words in her mind. She did not bother to move nor take a step forward another ten minutes. She just stood in her place staring at the back of her once friend, lover, strut off in the distance thinking we're did they went wrong. She wished she could go back in time and redo their first encounter all over again to make things right between their marriage.

 

**Flash Back Part 2.**

**At a Couples Retreat in Maui, Hawaii** a **Year ago.**

"Okay everyone that's the end of our session for today" Fives couples are sitting on their beach towels by the ocean along with Ichabod and Abbie. The counselor is a young beautiful woman that goes by the name of Claudette. She dressed in a long yellow halter summer dress made of polyester, her wavy long hair flowing down to the middle of her back, having a golden caramel skin coloration, her eyes light hazel brown.  Ichabod and Abbie stood up stepping off of their towel. Abbie picks the towel up from off the sand, shaking it clean. Ichabod walks away to get a bottled water from the cooler sitting on a brown table set up by a white canopy. He sits down and makes himself comfortable in a blue and white striped beach chair. His hair is out, flowing in the wind, he is dressed in a beige button down cotton shirt with ivory draw string linen pants. Abbie has on a white long strapless cotton beach dress with a slit that opens all the way up to her thighs on her left side, her hair is out and wavy with a yellow flower pinned on the right side behind her ear. Claudette eyes the couple carefully, observing the way they hardly interact with each other.

"Abbie, Ichabod. Can the two of you come over here for a minute?" she asked waving her hand for them to come over to her.

Abbie stops folding her towel to walk over to Claudette looking puzzled. Ichabod gets up from his chair heading over to Claudette frowning in confusion as well.  "Why do you think I called the two of you over?" she asked in a calm demeanor, eying the both of them closely. Abbie and Ichabod shake there head at a loss. "Because you both are not practicing what I shared in our session today." She looked fixedly at Abbie "Why did you come to this retreat?"

"Um...because It was a great opportunity to come to Maui"

"And...."Claudette pried.

"And.... to learn how I can improve our marriage."

"Because..." Claudette pried again.

"Because I want to salvage our marriage, or whatever is left of it."

"Not you, we, it should be a partnership." She direct her attention to Ichabod. "And why are did you come to this retreat?"

"The same reasons as my wife."

Claudette nods in agreement. "Good. Now that we have established why you're both here, I wish to see the two of you interacting more with each other. Doing things together. No where in my lectures did I mention anything about keeping your distance from one another. You both should be communicating with each other a lot more." 

Ichabod and Abbie look at each other for a moment reluctantly. Claudette steps through the gap between them causing them to step aside in their own opposite direction. "Come with me." She leads them a little further down the beach to an unlit fire pit with large rocks surrounding it in a circle. She sits down gracefully on the side of her hip. "Please sit." she gestures for them to sit down by the pit. Abbie grabs the end of her dress, lifting it up to mid thigh to make sure it is not dirtied up by the sand when she sits. Ichabod sits down in an Indian style position. "I want to help save this marriage you are both struggling with... but you both have to be willing and open to what I can do to salvage it."

"I'm open to anything at this point." Abbie voices surely. Ichabod could see the hope in Abbie's eyes and wanted to believe in the idea of these therapeutic getaways will help solve all their problems when he knew realistically it was not plausible. His heart felt heavy with unhappiness, they have done too much damage to one another emotionally. He wanted to file for divorce but Abbie protested against it and pleaded with him to give her a chance to find a way to revive their marriage. It took him a week to think on her proposition to finally  agree with her. His reasons to agree with his wife was mainly to appease her curiosity, knowing she wouldn't let the subject drop regardless of his response or answer.

"Ichabod," Claudette waves her hand in his peripheral view , bringing him out of his trance. His eyes catches hers fixed on him.

"Yes."

"Are you open as well?"

"I suppose." he cleared his throat in uncertainty.

"Okay then. Lets get started. What I am about to do has only been done on one other couple which had a positive outcome in the end.  I chose the two of you because I believe my method will help revive what is broken or lost in this marriage. Ichabod and Abbie your both two very special people who deserve a second chance at happiness. The love that was lost will find it's own way in."

Abbie glimpse over at Ichabod as he listens to Claudette's words. She couldn't help but smile at his enraptured expression. One of the main attributes that captured her heart was his defined handsome features, his long lashes that shade over his soft cobalt blue eyes and his charming infectious smile, something he less often did around her. She missed seeing him smile, hearing his laughter, knowing she'd always had a way of making him laugh. She remembered there being a time where he went on about how she lovely her sense of humor was. Now, not so much anymore. Her words now more than anything causes him more annoyance. Her smile quickly faded into a frown bringing herself back into reality of the reasons as to why they are at the retreat.

"I want you to both close your eyes." They do as she says "Good. Now, I want you both to tell me the first story that comes to mind and when I say story, I mean fictional story you both can remember reading or watching as a child."

Abbie chuckles quietly to herself. "The princess and the frog."

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Ichabod stated.

Claudette's eyebrows raised up an inch at Ichabod's response. "Interesting. How did you come upon this story?"

"At nine years of age, my father felt I was old enough to handle a story that involved a bit of horror with lack of concern of nightmares entering my sleep through out the night. He saw how well I had handled a haunted attraction the faculty in my grade school had put together... and that 's also when I discovered the origins of my name. My father has a very odd sense of humor."

Abbie peeks one eye open at him "I'm surprised your mother allowed your father to give you that name."

"Yes. Well, I was just as surprised as you. My mum didn't care much for it but figured it would give me character. Hence, kept the name. I thought about changing it or just going by my middle name but it has grown on me over the years."

"Good thing your last name isn't Crane." Abbie giggles.

He now peeks his one eye at her not amused.

"Okay you two, keep your eyes closed." Claudette reminded. "Ichabod, Abbie. Next, I want you both to imagine yourselves as your favorite character from any story or even a character you've made up when you were younger. Once you see yourselves as that character I want you to count from one to hundred out loud."

As they start counting aloud, Claudette closes her eyes and concentrates on the two of them, she has the gift to visualize any particular being or thing a person sees in their mind. Low flames appear in the fire pit, the wind blows harder around them, the sun disappears in the clouds, the sky becomes dark, a drops of rain begin to fall upon them. Ichabod and Abbie cringe at the touch of the rain falling onto their skin. They both open their eyes to find a missing Claudette. As they stand up, they skim their eyes around seeing if they spot Claudette anywhere.

"Where could she be. let alone everyone else." looking around the perimeter of the coastline.

"I-I don't know. Maybe she walked back to the hotel."  he looks down to see the fire pit is now lit. "That -that was lit before" pointing at the pit.

Abbie takes notice to what he's referring to. "You're right. It wasn't."

The light rainfall grew into heavy down pour. Abbie shields her face with her arm draped over her forehead. In that moment Ichabod noticed her concern and tempted to help her out without thinking twice about what he was doing. He quickly takes off his shirt and covers her head with it, hugging her in his arm, holding her close to him. He felt her body shivering from the cold rain. His hands began rubbing her back up and down rapidly to create any warmth he could provide. Her head was ducked underneath his chin, both their teeth clattering.

"We-we-need-ta-ta-to get-get back- to - the hotel." she stumbled to say. 

He looks up in the direction of where the hotel is located or was located. He assumed his eyes were playing tricks on him. "Wha- wher- where's the hotel?"

She lifts up her head to try and look at him without feeling too much rain impacting her eyes. "What? It-its right over there" she peeks around his chest pointing in the direction the hotel should be located. She squints her eyes, her face scrunching up in disbelief. "What the hell?" she mutters to herself. "It was right there." she claimed as she keeps pointing.

"Not anymore. What's going on?" Ichabod questioned looking just as confused as Abbie.

"I don't know but -but - stay with me. Don't leave me." she hides her face in his chest.

"I won't. I promise. Everything will be fine Miss Mills."

Abbie snaps her head up looking at him with even more confusion. "Why did you call me Miss Mills?"

"I-I-I do not know." Even he didn't understand why he'd call his wife by a different last name. Strangely, the name felt natural as he spoke it. He chose to no longer question it and concentrate on keeping Abbie warm along with himself. "We need to find shelter or we'll both freeze to death out here if this rain doesn't let up."

"I agree." they take a good look at their surroundings once more to spy only huge black boulders trailed all the way down the beach.

"I-I think if we stay by the fire, we should be fine."

The fire goes out just as he said that. Abbie peeks over her shoulder to see the flames had burned out "Great. Got any other ideas?"

He frowns at her. "Unfortunately not." she wraps his shirt around her head almost into a bonnet.

"keep me posted when you do." she buries her face into his soaked chest again.

The intense wind causes a huge sand storm to whirl around seven feet away from them.

Ichabod spotted the danger heading towards their direction. "Oh, shit."

"What?" Abbie looks up at him and sees a disturbing look on his face. She turns her head to view what he's staring at. Her mouth drops open, blown away by the huge dust storm that quickly formed in a matter of seconds.

"Run." he quietly demanded.

Abbie was too frozen in fear to move. "Run!" he repeated, shouting. He begins to sprint in the opposite direction, grabbing Abbie by the arm, pulling her with him. She trips over a rock hidden in the sand and falls flat on her face. He stops and grabs her by the arm to help her up on her feet.  He didn't think they'd have enough time to escape it at the speed the storm was moving. He quickly hovers over her body shielding her as best as he could from the storm that was in a matter of seconds approaching closer. Abbie buried her face in her hands as she laid on her stomach, Ichabod's body was flat on top of hers, his arms wrapped around her waist in a tight grip. "Whatever happens, just know- just know that - I'm sorry Abbie." He said burying his face into the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry too." Abbie whispers back, squeezing her eyes shut bracing for the impact.

The storm approaches them just as quickly as it passes through leaving an empty space where Ichabod and Abbie's bodies had occupied.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Corbin's Cabin at 2:15 am Two Days Prior to the Present Day.**

Abbie watched Ichabod's face turn into a bright red from his flustered state while she was doing her best to explain her actions that took place a week ago in the archives. It pained her to see him in an uncomfortable state. "How bout I drop it. We don't need to talk about what happened anymore, Lets just forget it, okay?"

"Unfortunately I'm afraid my eidetic memory won't allow me that privilege... but..  that would be very much appreciated." He hears the water boiling and goes into the kitchen to turn off the stove. Abbie stands up from the couch and heads to the door.

"Um," she pinches the bridge of her nose, scrunching up her face as if she's in agony. She felt their conversation left things awkward between them. "I think... it be best if I went home."

He steps out of the kitchen for a moment to protest "But Miss Mills, you have not slept well. I fear it would not be safe for you to operate your vehicle in your condition and what of your tea?"

"I think I'll be okay to drive Crane. We'll do tea some other time" she reaches for the door knob. 

Part of him wanted to convince her to stay, not just because he was afraid of her driving home in her exhausted state, but also because he really enjoyed having her company. The other part him was relieved she decided to be on her way, making things easier on him in this uncomfortable situation. Whatever he chose to do he needed to decide quickly before she took off.

As Abbie opens the door Crane quickly struts up behind her pushing the door closed. She turns around and looks at him as if he's lost his mind.

"Don't go." he said one heavy breath.

"Crane, I'm good to drive home."

"Please stay."

"Why do you want me to stay?" she asked in concern.

He tried to think of a good excuse besides his own selfish reasons. _Think Crane think_ ,,,, "I require your assistance with a certain matter."

Abbie folds her arms, raises her brows curiously "Oh? and what would that be?"

"I-I too am unable to sleep. I feel that if you read to me, it might help my predicament" his eyes dart down to the floor then back to hers.

Abbie stares at him for another minute. She unfolds her arms, letting out a deep sigh, shifting her eyes to look down to the floor as well as if something interesting has caught her attention. "Alright. I'll stay... but, I'm taking the couch and please don't argue with me about this." she warned looking into his eyes, pointing her finger at him. All he could do was form a pleasing grin across his mouth. He was happy about his decision to convince her to stay. The awkwardness between them instantly disappeared when Abbie decided to stick around the remainder of the night at the cabin as oppose to driving back to her house. She walked past him to retrieve a pillow and a spare blanket from the closet in the bedroom.

"Shall I finish making us tea?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah that'll be fine Crane" she yelled from the bedroom.

 

**Later at 3:00 in the Morning.**

Abbie puts the book she'd been reading to Crane down on the sofa beside her when after her eyes look up from reading the fourth chapter to find him fast asleep. His head was resting on the arm of the sofa, his arms crossed over his chest with his hands tucked beneath his arm pits, half of his body lying on his side on the sofa, his legs are hanging off the end of the couch with his boots planted on the ground. She carefully rises up from the couch, grabs the extra blanket she left folded on the seat of a chair and covers his body with it. She takes one last look at him thinking he got his way again, she had no other choice but to retire to his bedroom.  _How does he do it_ ,,, _How does he always get his way_ , she wondered. She makes her way into the bedroom quietly closing the door behind her.

 

**An hour later**

The sound of running water stirs Abbie out of her sleep. Gradually opening her eyes, she sits up in bed, looking around trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. She was too groggy to recognize the easy detectable noise was the shower running in the bathroom. Swinging her legs out of bed, she yawns while rubbing her eyes., pushes herself off the bed to stand, staggering over to the door.  When she opens the door she sees a light peeking through the door way of the bathroom. When she walks into the living room, she observes Crane is now missing from the couch. She looked back over to the bathroom and without thinking shuffled her feet toward the bathroom door. She knocks lightly with the back of her hand. "Crane?" she knocks again "Crane, you in there?" after not hearing a response, she gently pushed open the bathroom door, peeking inside. All she could see was the shower curtain drawn closed. She walks in, stepping closer to the curtain. "Crane?" her gut feeling was telling her something was wrong. She had to decide whether or not pulling the curtain open was the best choice knowing she'd find a naked Crane on the other end. The last thing she intended to do what cause him anymore embarrassment he'd already felt earlier after bringing up the incident that had happened in the archives. "Crane? Is everything alright?" she waited thirty seconds for a response. After hearing nothing but running water she decides to go against decency and drag the curtain to the opposite side, revealing an empty shower?

"Miss Mills?"

Abbie jumps in place, his voice surprising her. She turns around, placing a hand against her chest as her heart was racing. "Crane? Where were you?" she said looking at him alarmed.

"I was out back getting more wood for the fire. I was cold. " he simply said brushing past her to turn the water off.

She lets out a relieved breath "I thought you were in the shower."

"So you took it upon yourself to get a good look to make sure?" raising his brows in question.

Abbie laughs nervously, looks back at the shower then back at him. "Oh that? Um,,,well, I wasn't sure if- well I called your name more than once and when you didn't answer I figured.... wait why do you have the shower running?" quickly trying to change the subject.

"I grew restless. I was planning on indulging myself in a hot shower hoping it would help my body at ease enough to fall back asleep... and you're awake? I thought you'd be asleep yourself."

"I wish I could sleep more, but I can't. Now that I'm awake again"

"More nightmares I presume."

"No. I heard the shower." she looks away, hugging her arms around her chest.

His features become apologetic. "I woke you. That was inconsiderate of me. I should have waited til morning."

"No, no it's fine Crane. Don't apologize. I'm a light sleeper." she said giving him a comforting grin.

"No Miss Mills. It is entirely my fault I have kept you from your rest."

She shrugs her shoulders "It's all good. Well, seeing that we're both up I say we _indulge_ ourselves in a glass of whiskey. What do ya say?" He ponders it for a second looking at the shower then to her.

"Perhaps the shower can wait." An appeasing smirk appears on his face.

"Okay then captain, lets make a night of it." She steps out of the bathroom with Crane following a few feet behind her.

 

**5:00 am in the Morning**

"You cheated!" Crane griped. He side eyes Abbie disapprovingly after loosing to a game of guess who.

She picks up a bottle of Jim Bean"No I didn't, you're just a sore looser." she said playfully smirking as she pours herself another glass.

"I am not" he said pouting with his arms folded across his chest. "Clearly, you peeked at my person."

She laughs at his accusation "Did not. I had no idea who your person was.... and how would I be able to see who your player when I'm sitting clearly across from you." she takes a sip of her drink and cringes a little from the taste. "Now I know why Irvin left this here for us." she said twisting up her face looking at the bottle.

"I don't know, I find it quite enjoyable." Crane added as he takes a sip from his own glass easily.

"Wanna play again?"

"No. I do not care for this game." He flat out said.

"Why? because I beat you three times in a row?" she teased.

"No, and for the record, I could have easily ' _beaten'_ you had I paid attention. I was too distracted by your voice when you chose to sing "Unforgettable" I'd rather play a game that is more,,, challenging."

"Hmmm,,, more challenging." she squints her one eye tapping her finger on the side of her temple, twisting the corner of her mouth up to the side. "how about..... " she relaxes her face and snaps her fingers "How about dare or double dare."

"Dare or double dare? Sounds interesting. How is this game played?"

"Simple, you take turns daring or double daring each other to do something risky. Technically the game is called 'truth or dare' but I always leave out truth because that's mainly the choice everyone picks. The easy way out of being dared to do something crazy." she explains while she grabs her glass to take another sip of her whiskey.

"I do not follow" he takes another sip of his drink, licking his lips from the taste he finds so delightful.

"Okay, just ask me do I either choose dare or double dare." she puts her glass down on the table giving Crane her full attention.

"Very well, dare or double dare Miss Mills"

"Dare. Now you have to dare me to do something silly, you could ask me to do something simple, like stick my hand in toilet water or something a little harder or risky like pour a bucket of ice over my head. Kinda got the idea?''

"Yes. I believe so. Though I do have one question. " he leans forward with his elbows on the table clasping his hands together looking closely at her "If I've comprehended the concept of this game properly and if you were to choose double dare, that would mean I could give you a far more challenging deed to perform."

"That's the idea."

"and what is the penalty if I decline your dare."

"You get punched in the arm ten times." she simply said flashing him a devilish grin.

He rubs his hand up and down the side of his arm, remembering the pain he felt from the impact the last time Abbie punched his arm out of playfulness. He didn't want to experience the level of pain he'd feel if she were to punch him for real.

"So what's my dare?"

He sits up straight in his chair while thinking of a good dare. "Ah!" he voiced as he lifts his finger up in the air. "I dare you to tap your head and rub your belly at the same time for thirty seconds starting now"

"Really?" she scoffs. She raises her right arm and begins tapping her head while her left hand moves to rub her belly.

Crane chuckled amusingly while watching her. "I'm glad you are finding this humorous

"Indeed I am." he states through his small laughter.

Her thirty seconds were up and now it was her turn to ask. "Dare or double dare Crane."

"Ehem.." clearing his throat before answering "I choose dare."

"I dare you to burp the alphabet."

"That's preposterous, I would never do anything so vile." he vexed as he sits back in his chair.

"Are you refusing to do my dare?"

"Yes! I absolutely refuse."

"Remember what happens when you choose to refuse a dare." she purposely demonstrates her hand clinching into a fist directly in his view. He gulps. "Are you sure that's the choice you want to go with?" she taunted.

"You are a wicked woman." he grumbled in a low husky tone. He grabs his glass of whiskey to prepare himself for the most distasteful thing he's ever been asked to do. He drinks down his whole glass and slams it on the table. It took him a couple of minutes to feel gas rising up from his stomach into his chest. He lets out the loudest burp he's ever allowed to escape his mouth. The burp didn't last long enough for him to make it to C. Abbie bursts out laughing, Crane's face turned red from humiliation. "Are you satisfied. My father has always taught me proper etiquette in front of a lady. Not once would I have ever thought to find myself doing something so repugnant."

"Oh come on Crane, it wasn't that bad." she said continuously laughing.

"May we carry on?"

"Yeah, yeah " she waves him off still chuckling.

"Dare or double dare."

"You know what, I'll choose double dare this time."

" Very well then, My challenge to you is for you to run outside around the cabin, just once."

"That's it? That's nothing"

"Only dressed in your underthings." he added smirking.

Abbie's body tensed up. Her face looks stunned for a moment. She couldn't believe he had the courage to actually give her such a damn good dare. She'd never expect Crane to ask her to do something as bold as run around in her bra and panties. She slowly stands up, Crane watches her like a hawk still snidely smirking. She pretends she is not bothered by his dare and begins undressing herself as if it's no big deal but it was a big deal! This wouldn't be the first time Crane has seen her in her bra but this would be the first time he'd see her in panties and the fact that she was wearing laced boy shorts made it worst. He wanted to keep watching her undress but felt it would not be proper being the gentleman he is or would like to believe he is. He turns his head to face the other way.

"Do not fret Miss Mills, I will not look. I shall at least honor your privacy while you discard your clothing."

"Thanks" she said sarcastically.

After she had removed her shirt and pants she quickly opens the front door and runs outside. In one move Crane gets up from his chair and looks outside, part of him hoping to catch a glimpse of Abbie in her underwear. Abbie couldn't wait to get revenge on him for the dare he gave her to do, but she knew the chances of him choosing double dare was very slim.

While Crane waited for Abbie to come back around to the front, he noticed that it was beginning to drizzle. Abbie felt something wet hit her shoulder and the top of her head. She stops and looks up to see light misty rain coming down from the sky. "Just great" she utters to herself. She hurries back around the front of the cabin. In a matter of seconds it begins to down pour. Crane steps out the cabin looking for her.

"Miss Mills?" the rain was coming down so hard he could barely see anything outside in the dark.

From out of nowhere she rushes into his arms soaking wet. He quickly guides her in shutting the door behind them. He takes a step back, viewing her half naked body unintentionally. He tried to will his eyes to look away but they were glued to her chest. Oblivious to what Crane's eyes were focused on, Abbie walks to the bathroom to grab herself a towel. Crane got a good look at her cheeks that peeked out from her underwear. "Dear.. god.." he whispered to himself. His felt the arousal was evident. He quickly sat down and scooted himself in close to the table to hide his erection. Abbie comes back out with a towel wrapped around her body and picks her clothes up from off the floor. "The game is not over Crane. I'll be back." she heads to the bedroom to dress herself. He regret giving her that dare because he knew regardless if he picked dare or double dare she'd think of something just as lewd for him to carry out.

Abbie comes back out surprisingly with the bath towel still wrapped around her body. Crane diverted his eyes away from her body, even with the towel covering her he could still make out the contours of her curvy figure. "Good one Crane. I give you props for that dare."

He looks at his empty glass instead of looking at her "Props?"

"It's like a praise."

"Oh."

She looks at him strangely, noticing his face looked redder than a tomato. "You okay?"

"Yes. I'm just not use to seeing you unclothed."

"Oh, does just seeing me in a towel make you feel uncomfortable?" she implies sarcastically.

"Just a bit."

"Well you should of thought of that before giving me that dare. Now, my turn. Dare or double dare."

He wanted to stop the game and call it quits but suspected Abbie wouldn't allow him that privilege, not after what she had to do and to add to it, she fulfilled his dare when it had started to rain but that part was unexpected. He had to play fair and give her the chance to get her revenge. " I choose.... double dare." he hesitantly said. 

"Ohhh, look who's being brave. Okay then, I double dare you to..." she eyes him up and down ".....show me how you'd kiss a lady back in your time. " It didn't cross her mind how forward her dare was until she said it. It sounded like something Jenny would say, never would she imagine herself asking that of Crane but at the same time she was curious to see how and if he would honor her dare.

His eyes look up to hers, baffled by her request. "Pardon?"

"Look Crane, you don't have to. I was out of line to ask. I won't even punch you in the arm for backing out." she gets up from her chair and is about to walk past him when he stops her by gently grabbing her forearm, pulling her back towards him. She stood still, confused by his actions.

"I'll honor your request. After all, this-is-just- a game." he said looking up at her. "It would only be fair."

Abbie stayed frozen in place while he stood up from his chair. His body close to hers fully facing her. "You wish for me to show you how I court a lady? Do you not?"

"Yes" she responded softly, entranced by his eyes that stared fixedly into hers with desire.

"Then permit me to show you." He cups the side of her face tenderly, stroking his thumb in circles around her cheek bone. His eyes studying her features, her lips, her eyes. His thumb glides slowly down from her cheekbone to her lips, rubbing his thumb across her lips, slowly, inch by inch. Abbie closes her eyes, embracing his touch. His traces his thumb across her upper lip, she moans softly from his caress. His face closing in on  hers, placing a very light kiss upon her lips. The kiss only lasted for five seconds before he pulled away. Her eyes slowly open to see him staring into hers somberly. His hand falls away from her face to his side. "and that is how I would kiss a lady. My turn..." his eyes still set on hers "Dare or double dare?" he asked hoarsely.

"Double dare." she answered spellbound from his kiss.

"I double dare you to unwrap your towel and allow my eyes to take in your entire beautiful shape."

She unwraps her towel at his request and lets it fall the floor. He steps back, his eyes soak in every bit of her body, from her face all the way down to her ankles. He moans quietly in appreciation. "turn around" he commands calmly. She does as he ask and gives him a full view of her backside. He loved the way her cheeks peeked out from beneath her boy shorts. He imagined himself grabbing her by the waist from behind and pulling her against his front, bending his head to bite down on her shoulder. He was getting himself too worked up checking out the view of his beautiful, attractive partners bottom. He had to calm himself down, after all, they were still playing the game. "Turn back around." she faces him again, he bends down to pick up the towel "Your turn" he said while wrapping the towel around her body, draping one end of the towel over the other.

"Dare or double dare." she ties the front of her towel in a knot.

"double dare." he watches her hands make the knot, his eyes travel down to her exposed legs, imagining his hand sliding up her thigh all the way up to her center, feeling her clit through the thin material of her undergarment.

"How far are you willing to go?"

He swallows hard "Is this part of the game?"

"Of course. Anything goes." her voice dropping in a soft seductive tone " So, how far?" she places her hands on her hips.

"I cannot say. Why do you ask?"

"This might go against all propriety. You sure you want to go through with this. We can stop the game now" she offered.

"No. No, I wish to continue."

"Okay, I double dare you to touch me where you'd like."

"Anywhere?" he swallows hard again.

"Yes. Anywhere." she steps closer to him. Her eyes challenging him.

He hesitantly brings his hand to her mouth, dragging the back of his fingers against her lips. She closes her eyes and gasps. His fingers trail down to her chin, underneath her chin to her neck, all the way down to her chest, over the towel all the way down to her upper thigh. His eyes following along. He stops at her mid thigh and draws his hand away. "This would not be proper. I'm afraid I cannot continue with this game."

Abbie opens her eyes, lifts up her hand, placing it on the side of his face. "It's okay. We can stop."

"I do not care to stop." he takes her hand in his grasp and lifts it up to his lips, kissing it tenderly. He closes his eyes. "My sincere apologies Miss Mills." he pulls her hand away from his face and lowers it down to her side "It will be dawn soon. We should both retire for the rest of the morning."


	3. Chapter 3

**6:30 am in The Morning**

The rain had stopped. It was nearly dawn. Abbie tossed and turn from side to side on Crane's bed from the little of the night that was left. Sleep hasn't been her friend that whole entire evening. She tried lying in every position that was comforting to her, from laying on her back, to lying on her stomach, then switching to her right side then left. She abruptly sits up and repeatedly beats down on her pillow trying to flatten it out "Ugh! Dammit!" she plops the side of her head back down on the pillow breathing out a discontented sigh. She rolled on her back again, kicking the blanket off from her legs out of frustration. "Why the hell can't I sleep?"...she asked herself "Oh yeah, I know why... cause of Crane's stupid ass. He had to challenge me on that dare. Stupid Crane and his stupid self.  Nope, I'm not gonna  get up and go into the living room to see if he's asleep. Nope, not gonna  do it. I'm sure he is sleeping wonderfully while I'm lying here dealing with insomnia, thinking about that stupid ass kiss.. which was nothing. He barely even kissed me. Pssh yeah, I'm sure he really kissed women so politely back in his time. He's a man. Men don't kiss in such a gentlemanly manner. As if they kissed a woman so properly back in the 18th century. Stupid Crane." She kept blabbering on, convincing herself the kiss he demonstrated on her lips left no effect on her. "It was just a dumb game. That's all it was. A game. It was just a simple innocent kiss. Ughh! why am I thinking about that damn kiss!" She grabs her pillow and throws it at the wall in front of her. She gets out of bed and paces around the room still rambling on "Why can't I sleep! errrr! So annoying." she looks at the closed door that is not far from the living room where Crane is asleep on the couch.

She starts chewing on her bottom lip out of nerves. Her pacing comes to a halt when she hears the shower being turned on. She walks closer to the door, slowly moves her hand towards the knob, turning it a quarter to the right. "What am I doing. Just go back to bed and ignore the fact that he's up." Her hand kept its position on the knob. An image of his naked body flashed through her mind or an idea of how his naked body would look flashed through her mind. Her hand begins moving the knob further around clockwise completing the circle, unlatching the door. The door creaks as she slowly opens it. Stepping lightly in the direction of the living room, her eyes found the bathroom door slightly ajar.  She tempted to reroute herself to the bathroom and close the bathroom door out of courtesy for his privacy. Her mind told her to do the right thing, except, she found herself frozen in place standing in the door way, listening to Crane humming a tune. Curiosity got the best of her. She steps further inside the bathroom. Tip toeing near the shower curtain. Crane continues to hum proudly. Abbie covered her mouth to refrain herself from chuckling out loud.

She so badly wanted to peek her head around the curtain just to satisfy her curiosity. _Leave now while you still can_ ,,, her mind kept telling her. Her body didn't get the memo and stayed put. Crane turns the water off, sticks his hand out from the shower curtain reaching for the towel. He waved his arm all around trying to search for the towels location. Abbie saw that he was having a hard time finding the towel and helped him out by grabbing a towel from off the rack, realizing a second later she'd just given herself away. She quickly covered her mouth with her hands, gasping from her mindless action.

"Thank you so kindly" Crane said instinctively without it registering in his mind Abbie was in the bathroom until a few seconds later. 

Abbie waits fearfully through a drawn out silence for his reaction. Her eyes darted over at the curtain when he briefly drew it open to see her standing by the toilet, looking like a child that caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Abbie's eyes grew wide open, her mouth drops in shock when she gets a good look at his naked body, a real good look.

"Miss Mills? What are you...." he looks down at his body realizing he'd exposed himself in her eyesight without thinking. He quickly draws the curtain closed. "I'm so... sorry." he voiced shamefully on the other side of the curtain.

Abbie slowly starts backing away out of the bathroom "No Crane, I-I'm sorry, I- didn't mean to intrude." She never felt so embarrassed.

Before Abbie could make it all the way out, Crane pulls the curtain back open with the towel wrapped around his waist looking mortified. Abbie stopped and averted her attention to the opened door, making sure to keep her eyes off of Crane's well-built form. "I'll just leave you to your privacy and get us some breakfast."

He steps out of the bathtub "That won't be necessary." his embarrassed state slowly turns more into acceptance of what just occurred. He had to laugh inside himself at the situation. Part of him didn't mind she'd seen him naked. He was flattered to see her all flustered, for once. He knew it was an accident, or was it? He did question in his mind her reasons for being in the bathroom and how long she'd been standing by his shower. Would he be so brave to ask her reasons for barging in on his shower? no, he couldn't, as much as he wanted to. It was like the situation he found himself in catching Abbie pleasuring herself in the archives, remembering how awkward it was for him to have that discussion, he's sure she'd feel the same way if he were to address the matter of her intrusion. He let it go and places his hands lightly on her shoulders "It is quite alright. It was a simple mishap." his hands grasp her shoulders more firmly.

"Your right, these things happen." she shrugs her shoulders, feeling the weight of his hands resting on her shoulders. Aware of the close proximity of his body made her quiver a little, causing her to have goose bumps all over her body.

"It was.... inevitable.. for this to... happen" he managed to say without sounding too worked-up. His eyes slowly trail all the way down from her neck to her backside. Even though she was wearing an over sized t-shirt she'd found in Corbin's closet, he could still make out the contours of her curvy shape. He imagined himself lifting up the end of her shirt to get a better view of her cheeks in her boy shorts.

"I mean, I've caught Jenny in the bath once shaving her legs." her body shivers as the image flashes through her mind "Too bad it wasn't a bubble bath." she mumbled.

"I'll make us some coffee" Abbie begins to walk away when Crane's grasp doesn't let up. She jerks her body forward again unable to move with Crane's hold on her upper arms. "Uh Crane... Is everything okay?"

His breathing picks up, he steps closer to her from behind. "I have not slept well, knowing- knowing I am a selfish man. I would like to ask a favor from you."

"Uh..oookay. And what's the favor?" she turns her head slightly towards him looking puzzled.

"Could you be so kind to dry me off, completely."

After a long pause, Abbie laughs. "Sure Crane, let me go get the coffee started."

"I _wasn't_ joking."

Her laughter stops. She turns around to face him. Crane shows her a humorless expression. "You're serious?" taken aback by his request.

"I am." he nods in confirmation. He unwraps his towel from around his waist, baring all his nudity to her. He holds out his towel for her to take. "Please."

Abbie tenses up, thrown off by his bold action still holding his towel out to her. She hesitantly takes the towel from his hand "Is this part of our game?"

"It was my understanding we ended our game awhile ago." He puts his hands around his back, clasping them together, standing up right with his chin up. "I have nothing to hide from you Miss Mills. Twice, you have made attempts to get a good look at my nudism. So I shall make it easy for you, allowing you the chance to take a gander at my body at hand."

"Wha?-I- Crane, I honestly don't know what your talking about."

"The first time, earlier, you took it upon yourself to inspect the shower, although it was empty, I'm sure you were fully aware of the possibility of finding my presence on the other side of that curtain. And not too long ago, you entered unannounced, and idly stood by for who knows how long, in close range, listening to me shower. I am not as dim-witted as you might think."

Abbie was speechless. She had nothing to say to back up any excuse she could think to prove him wrong. All she could do was look at the floor.

"Would you prefer I do it myself Miss Mills." he asked cocking his head to the side trying to read her expression.

"No." she looks up. "No, I can do it. We're both grown adults here. It doesn't bother me. All I'm doing is drying you off."

"That is correct."

She takes a step forward, trying to divert her eyes away from his manhood. She spreads the towel out wide and places it against his chest, rubbing the towel in a circle against his dampened skin. His eyes keep watch on her hand as she wipes him dry. She slides the towel down to his stomach and wipes his ribcage then down to his belly button. She slides the towel down a little further to his pelvis still keeping her eyes on his stomach. She felt silly towel drying him but at the same time turned on. She wanted to dry his most sacred part but avoided that area when she moves lower to his quads. She kneels down and slides the towel down to his knee, then switches to the other knee, rubbing the towel all around his knee cap and behind his leg down to his calves. His body responded pleasingly to her touch, his cock twitches from the feeling of the towel as she took her time drying him off. He did his best to will it not to raise up in attention, which failed him horribly. He was thankful Abbie kept her eyes focused on his ankles while she dried off his chins.  His legs had a well defined toned structure to his form. Crane's eyes followed Abbie's movements while she carefully dried off his legs. She moves her hand back up to his hamstring and raises up from off the floor.

"I need you to turn around so I can do your back." he turns his body giving her his backside. She takes the towel to his muscular back and slides it down past his shoulder blades. She rubs the towel across his back in a zig zag motion, then slides the towel slowly towards his rare. She couldn't help but stare at the nice curves of his firm ass. She was happy that he had one , displaying beautiful cheeks to grab and squeeze. She dries his lower back and timidly rubs the towel around his cheeks then slides it back up to his upper back.

"Okay, all done." she steps back, letting out a sigh of relief that whole nerve wrecking yet provocative experience was over.

He turns around to face her again and takes the towel from her hand, wrapping it back around his waist. "Thank you." he whispered.

"No problem" She punches the side of his shoulder playfully, trying to keep the tension she felt at bay.

He inches himself close to her body and brushes his fingers across her abdomen. "I must confess, I am not able to get the image of you in your underthings out of my memory. I do apologize for my... vulgar behavior. I am putting my up most effort into not touching certain parts of your body that is not forbidden to my hands." He looks into her eyes with lust as if he's ready to attack her lips.

Abbie doesn't move away, instead, she strokes the side of his ribcage. A familiar feeling strikes her body, couldn't place where or when, but intuitively she knew what was to come.

 

**Flash back part 3**

**At Abbie's and Ichabod's House Four years ago**

"Fuck me" Abbie whined out as he quickly lifts her up on the bathroom counter and unzips his slacks with one hand, lifts up her skirt with the other. He pulls her panties to the side, inserting his fingers

She spreads her legs wide open for him to move in close to her body. He grabs the sides of her face with both hands, kissing her deeply, entangling his tongue around hers. They sucked on each others lips with more need and desperation. She bucks her hips forward eagerly, needing to feel his cock inside of her.

He pulls back, breathing heavily "Patience" he mutters.

"I don't have time. I gotta get back to work in twenty minutes." she grabs his face, pulling him into a heated kiss. He takes his cock out, grabs and guides it inside of her sex, pushing his cock deeply inside her center. She lets out a pleasurable noise between a gasp, moan and whimper. She holds him around his neck as he giving her hard deep quick thrusts. His hand cups her ass while her hips buck forward in circular motion.

"Ohh fuck..." Abbie cried out.

"Mmmm....you're so wet. I love it." he breaths out lowly.

He continues to give her deep quick thrusts while he sucks on her lower neck, biting and nibbling on her skin. She pulls on his hair, tilts her head back to give him better access to her neck "Tell me how you'd like me to finish you." he asked while kissing her collarbone.

"Cum inside me." she maneuvers her hands to his back from his hair. He clenches his teeth, hissing from the intense pleasurable pain of her nails clawing at his skin.

"Ahhhh...Ohhh... Abbie... ohhh.. fuck...." he shouts feeling her clit closing tighter around his shaft.

She grinds her hips hard and fast against his pelvis. He picks up his pace, brings his hand around to her clit and begins rubbing it in a fast circular motion with his fingers. Abbie cums immediately within a matter of seconds, crying out his name from her mouth. He strains out a low intense moan into her neck as he climaxes. There body convulses against each other. He pulls out when his cock grew soft. She leans back on her elbows trying to catch her breath.

"Damn" was all Abbie could say.

"Yes. exactly. I truly am a lucky man."

"Why's that?" she pulls her underwear back into place and lowers her skirt as she slides off the counter.

"Because you are too good to me. You are a magnificent woman."

"I'm okay." she humbly said.

"You are more than okay. You are a goddess. My goddess." he cupped the side of her face and kissed her with so much passion that rooted from his heart. He parts away from her lips "I cannot wait to marry you." he voices while gazing into her deep soft brown eyes. He leans in and kisses her again but endearingly this time.

 

**Back at Corbin's Cabin.**

She backs up against the bathroom counter and pushes herself up to sit atop of it. "Fuck me" she said softly.

He pauses for a moment before moving close to her legs and parting them wide open. He steps in between them. She slides her hands up against his chest to his collarbone, encircling them around his neck. "What am I doing?" she asked while leaning her face in to his.

"Must you question everything?" he whispers near her lips.

"You're one to talk" she lastly said before claiming his lips with hers.

His mind was trying to comprehend what was happening between them. He treasured his and Abbie's friendship but this was an opportunity he was glad had presented itself. No longer was propriety an issue in his rational mind. He kicked propriety out the door and welcomed the love that crept its way into his heart that had been buried down in his soul. He wanted this, he needed this, to show her how much she means to him. His desire controlled the lower part of his body making it hard for him to say no when she had asked him to fuck her. Of course he would, he hoped she'd ask that of him during their game of dare or double dare, making it easy on him to have an excuse to be intimate with her.

He places his hands on her knees sliding them all the way up to the end of her shirt. Their kiss grows more urgent. A strange familiar feeling passes through their body. A quick image of him pounding into her on the bathroom counter flashes through Abbie's mind. She jerks her head back looking baffled. Crane notices. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay." she shakes her head and proceeds with their kiss. He drags his lips from the corner of her mouth down to the side of her jawline. She slides her hands up the back of his neck through his hair, pulling his head towards her neck. He drags his lips all the way down to the side of her lower neck. His hands slide her shirt up towards her waist all the way up to her breasts. He moves away to pull her shirt over her head, tossing it to the ground. She removes her hands from his hair to unwrap his towel. He returns to her lips, sucking on her bottom lip, slipping his tongue in her mouth from time to time. He parts from her mouth again.

"Stand up" he commands. She slides off the counter. He gets down on his knees, grabs her by her waist, pulling her closer to his mouth. In one move he bites the edge of her underwear and pulls them down to her knees with his teeth. It was a move he's never learned to do before or has tried on any woman but instinctively something inside his gut was telling him she would enjoy watching him do so. He grabs her underwear and pulls it down the rest of the way. Abbie steps out of them and kicks them out the way. He keeps his hold on her waist, brings his face close to her lightly trimmed center, and caresses her clit with his tongue. She almost lost her balance from his unexpected move, standing on the ball of her feet, her upper back hunched over, holding on to his shoulders to steady herself.  She moans uncontrollably as he sucks on the sides of her labia, swirling his tongue around her clit. He slides his hand from her waist to her inner thigh to her center, inserting his fingers up inside her hole. 

"Mmmmm....that-feels-so good." Abbie cried out. She grabs the back of his hair still trying to maintain her balance, spreading her legs a little wider for him. His tongue flicks at her clit while his fingers were busy thrusting inside of her. She moans and wails from the pleasure and blissful feeling of his tongue. His cock was throbbing with pre cum seeping out his own hole from the tip of the head. Abbie felt herself getting close to cumming, she didn't want to cum while he was indulging himself in every delightful taste of her juices dripping from her center as he licks the heck out of her clitoris.  

She backs up to distance his mouth from her clit, leaning back against the edge of the counter, catching her breath. "I need you." she said through heavy pants. He needed her too. Swiftly he raises up from his knees, lifts her up on the counter, his hands grabbing her knees, impatiently opening her legs apart. His mouth attacks hers as he grabs his cock and guides it inside her. She wraps her arms around his back, pulling him in close to her body. He gropes her breasts and bends his head down to suck on her nipple. He nibbles and bites on the hard dark brown teat with his teeth then swirls his tongue around the dark center. She tilts her head back, arching her chest into his mouth. He moans when he feels her body react happily to his tongue. He drags his mouth over to her other breast giving it the same attention while he kneads and fondles the one he just abandoned. She looks down at him in awe and hunger. She loved watching the way his mouth moved all over her breast, the way his tongue licked at her skin, how his hair fell near the side of his face almost covering his eye. She rolls her hips into his, encouraging him to move a little faster. He lifts his head up from her chest and kisses her lips fiercely, grabbing the bottom of her ass while he gradually starts pounding his cock into her.

"Yes, that's it" she panted out.

"Uhhh, mmm..." was his only response, too lost in ecstasy. At first he tried to be cautious to not hurt her, fully aware of how big his manhood is but after feeling how well Abbie is taking in his length, he threw all caution aside. He holds the back of her head with one hand, the other hand still grabbing her cheek, pushing her towards him, pounding into her with more force.

"Oh god.. oh god... oh god.." he repeatedly kept mumbling into her mouth. He could feel himself close to having an orgasm but wanted to make sure she came before he did.  "Oh ...my god... Abbie... ahhhh....... fuck!" he pounds into her faster.

Abbie could feel herself getting close too but she needed an extra little something to push her over the edge. She grabs his hand and places it on her clit. "Rub it" she ordered. He rubbed at her clit with his fingers gingerly and that did it. It was enough to push her over the edge. She clawed at his back as she came, moaning into his mouth. He circled his hips, thrusting inside her with more speed and power his cock could give. His moan was just as loud as hers, loud enough to be heard by a stranger if they were standing outside of the cabin. He presses his forehead against hers, breathing heavily. Abbie smiles in content, stroking the side of his face soothingly.

 

**Four Years Later. How They Met**

Abbie walks up to the nurses station out of breath. "Sorry I'm five minutes late. Had a hard time with traffic." she takes off her coat and drapes It over the back of a chair. "And on top of that, I had to hit every red light on the way." She grabs a medical record out of Nurse Yelson's hand. "So who's the lucky patient that has the honor of my service for today."

Nurse Yelson logs off her computer "His name is Ichabod Edwards. He was just admitted last night."

"Yes. I see that he had suffered injury to his lower back and left shoulder from an automobile accident. So his name is really Ichabod? as in Ichabod Crane? The character from sleepy hollow?"

"Yep.,, but he looks nothing like his name."

Abbie looks up at Nurse Yelson "What is that suppose to mean?"

"He's _gorgeous_ " she sang out. "and I think he's single, from what I gathered reading through his information. Didn't you tell me how you were tired of being alone the other night when we went out for drinks." she hinted.

"Janet, really? I'm here to do my job, not pick up on men."

"Just saying." she pushes back her chair to grab her purse from underneath the desk.

"Have you had a chance to talk to him?" she asked still reading over his file

"Very briefly. I only had a chance to ask if he needed any water. There was another nurse on duty that tended to him earlier. He seemed very pleasant. Did I forget to mention he has a nice voice."

"Janet" giving her an are you kidding me glare.

"What? You never know Abbie. Anyways, I have to hurry and pick up my son from school." she grabs her jacket off of her chair and puts it on. "Have fun with that one." she said smirking nodding her head towards the patients room.

"Thanks" she responded sarcastically heading to the room.

When she walks in she finds Ichabod sitting up finishing off his cup of jello. She hated to admit it but her colleague was right, he was handsome. He didn't look anywhere close to an Ichabod. She sets his file down on a table by his bed. He does a double take when he sees Abbie walking in with his chart. The nurses he's encountered so far didn't even compete with Abbie's beauty. He puts down his jello on the table beside him, fixes his hair, patting it down and tucking it behind his ears.

"How are we feeling today Mr. Edwards?" she writes her name on the chalk board so he knows who to call for in case he needed anything.

"Quite well, thank you.. and please, you don't have to call me Mr. Edwards. Ichabod is fine, and how are you fairing Nurse-Wel-ling-ton" He asked, reading her name slowly as she was writing it.

She puts the chalk down and faces him "Fine thank you. Do you need anything? More water, jello,..." she said looking at his empty cup. "..does your pillows need adjusting?"

"How is your body feeling. Are you sore anywhere?"

"Somewhat sore. Mainly in my shoulder. It hurts when I try lifting it." his face contorted in pain when he tried lifting up his arm. He carefully lowers it back down. "The doctor gave me a pill to help with the pain but I believe it wore off."

"I'll see if it's time to give you another one."

"How much longer will I have to stay here?"

"That's for the doctor to decide.'

"oh" he said looking disappointed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you won't have to stay here another night. From what I was reading through your files, I speculate your injuries are minor enough for you to be discharged by the end of the night. Possibly, but there's no guarantee. Well if there is nothing you really need for the moment..." she started to walk away.

"Wait, what is your name?" he asked trying to find a way to get her to stick around a little longer. She stops and turns around.

"It's written on the board for you."

"Your first name."

"Abbie."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance Abbie." a charming grin spreads across his lips.

 

**Two Years Later. When It Began to go Wrong**

Ichabod and Abbie are eating dinner at opposite ends of the dining table. They both ate in silence for the first twenty minutes, neither one making eye contact with each other. Abbie grabs the salt shaker putting more salt on her mashed potatoes. Ichabod stops in mid bite looking up at Abbie then drops his fork down on his plate. Abbie jumps in her chair when the fork makes a loud clanking sound as it hits his plate. He leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the table, holding his napkin, clasping his hand together underneath his chin looking at her curiously.

"Is something wrong with my potatoes dear?"

She slams the salt shaker down next to her plate "Nope. It's fine baby." she flashed him a fake grin and grabs her knife to cut her steak.

"Then why would you need to use so much salt on the potatoes? Is it too _bland_ for you? If so, please tell me." 

"The potatoes are fine. Now can we change the subject." she irately said cutting the meat aggressively.

"Fine." he throws his napkin down on the table and leans back in his chair. "What would you like to talk about?"

"I don't know. Something other than your damn potatoes." she takes a quick bite avoiding eye contact.

"Okay, how about.... how you consistently keep leaving your flat iron on in the bathroom."

Abbie drops her knife and fork on her plate. "Is that really what you want to talk about?" she shakes her head in disbelief " Un-fuckin- believable." Her eyes look up at the ceiling then back to him. "Your right, I can't argue with that. There are days where I'm in a rush for work and I forget to turn it off."

"Everyday?"

" I suppose so, yeah. Everyday" she responded nonchalantly.

"So you expect me to clean up after your mess. What if your iron should start a fire. When the firemen come, will you tell them that same excuse if they were to ask how the fire started. That you just... _forgot_... because you were in a _rush."_

He was really starting to get under her skin. She hated how he talked down to her. "There hasn't been a fire yet has there?" she responded childishly.

"No... but... I have to be the responsible one to make sure that never happens. I have grown tiresome of double checking to see if  your device is turned off." Abbie just rolls her eyes.

"Ha! You want to talk about responsibility? How about being responsible for making sure your ass is on time when I make dinner reservations."

"I have always been on time." he retorts.

"OH, have you? I recall the last time I made reservations at La Petite for my parents anniversary, it was for seven thirty. I remember my parents and I waited outside in the freezing cold for twenty minutes. Because of your late arrival we lost our table and had to end up going to a diner across the street for their special sixtieth year anniversary." for a moment she thought back about what had happened that night and felt resentment mixed with bitterness growing inside her blood. She was so angry with him that night she ended up sleeping on the couch, giving him the bed for a whole entire week.

"I have a good explanation for that. I got held up at work because one of the employees called out sick  at the last minute so I had to cover his shift. I'd thought I'd make it time for our reservation."

"You could have called to let me know what was going on."

"Your right, I could have. It didn't dawn on me. Things were so hectic at work, I got sidetracked."

"And what about the time I made reservations for our first date night. You were late then too. At first I'd thought you stood me up."

"That doesn't count."

"Ohhh but first impressions do." she quipped. " and what about three weeks ago when I made reservations at Twilight, knowing nobody can get into that place without a reservation, not like we could have just walked in and expected to be seated. You even need a reservation to sit at the bar. That place is so high in demand, I had to make reservations a month in advanced... when I had asked, even begged you to be on time, what did you do,," she said gesturing her hand flamboyantly up in the air " you showed up forty- five- minutes - late. I had to plead with the manager to allow us to still be seated. And, the only reason why we were able to be seated was because of the fact one of the Doctors I work with at the hospital was there with his wife,,, and is best friends with the owner, which Is good to know, but if he had not spotted me and made sure we had a table, we would have been eating tv dinners that night."

He looked annoyed and uninterested in her rant "Are you threw?"

"Yep." she said folding her arms.

"Lets get to the real reason that lies hidden beneath our pointless quarrel." he gets up from his chair, heads to his study and comes back holding  a small yellow piece of paper between his two fingers. "I found this piece of paper in your jacket pocket with a gentleman's phone number written on it by the name of Victor. Who is this Victor?"

"Just a friend I knew back from high school. I ran into him yesterday morning at the Coffee house. Why were you going through my pockets?"

"I was looking for the house keys. I misplaced mine and then realized I set them on top of the refrigerator. Do you plan on seeing him?"

Abbie coughed out a laugh "Maybe? but we'd only meet up for lunch." she quickly made clear to him already aware of what he was implying. "Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. Him and I go way back."

"Then why haven't you mentioned him to me before. Why hide his number in your pocket?"

"I forgo-"

He holds up his hand signaling her stop talking "No, no. Let me guess. You forgot." he said snidely.

"You know what, I'm done talking about this with you " she spat out. She gets up to clear the dishes off of the table.

"You simply think I am going to ignore the fact you chose not to tell me about this 'friend' of yours"

"I know your not and you can talk about it all you'd like but I'm done. Right now, all I want to do is go to bed." she storms into the kitchen.

"Did you ask for his number or did he just... give it to you?" he follows her into the kitchen. Abbie walks past him again, ignoring his question, snatching the wine bottle off of the table. His eyes watch her like a hawk while she clears the rest of the table hastily. He huffs, infuriated by her silence "Fine!" he storms into his study, slamming the door behind him.

They kept their distance from one another the rest of the evening.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Abbie's House Present Day. Sleepy Hollow**

Her eyes fluttered open to the sound of Frank and Jenny's voice. They were stooped down by Abbie's side. Abbie lifts her head an inch off the floor blinking her eyes rapidly into focus. Jenny noticed Abbie was conscious and helps her sit up. Abbie felt her blood rushing to her head, slightly feeling dizzy. Frank scoots closer to Abbie, examining her face for any wounds. As his hand was about  to reach for her chin she harshly slaps it away.

"Abbie are you okay?" Jenny asked rubbing Abbie's back.

"Who are you?" Abbie asked

Frank looked confused as well as Jenny "Abbie, you must of hit your head really hard. It's me, Frank"

"I don't know you.... and who are you?" she asked looking at Jenny

Jenny looked sadly at her sister then back at Frank having a hard time coping with the fact Abbie was suffering from what she gathered, memory lost.  Abbie looks at the two of them feeling out of place with being unfamiliar with her surroundings and the people that are surrounding her.

"Abbie, I'm your sister. Maybe we should take you to the hospital."

"Sister?.. I don't have a sister."

Jenny couldn't do anything but smile weakly at her, doing her best not to argue with what Abbie believes is true and not true until her and Frank figured out how to bring back Abbie's memories.

"Ate you okay to stand up?' Jenny asked

"I think so "

Frank takes Abbie's left arm helping on her feet. She stumbles backwards from experiencing a little bit of dizziness. Frank and Jenny hold her steady by the arms "You sure you're okay to stand?" he asked again.

"Yeah, I just need to find my ground. Ah- where's my husband?" she asked the two of them. They both look to each other then back to her.

"I'm sorry, your husband?" frank said.

"Yes. He was with me before the dust storm had hit us."

Jenny pulls Frank to the side, far enough for Abbie not hear her. "We need to take her to the hospital. She has severe memory loss."

"Well that's pretty obvious isn't it." Frank stated.

She gives him a look slapping his arm. "I'm sure she thinks we're crazy. We need to get her trust us so she sees that we're not."

"Good idea. Do you think she'll come to the hospital with us willingly?"

"Not sure."

Abbie is standing in the back eying the two of them suspiciously.

Frank glimpse quickly over at Abbie and took notice at how she's watching them cautiously. He shoots her a smile then looks back at Jenny. "She's looking at us like we're kidnappers." Jenny takes a quick look at her sister, observing how she is interrogating them with her eyes.  She brings her attention back to Frank.

"We calmly explain to her it'd be best if she gets checked out by a doctor to make sure the injury to her head didn't cause a minor concussion."

"Okay cool. You do that while I give Crane a call. Maybe he can help us out with our problem as well."

"Sooo, your not gonna help me out with this?" she said with a nervous laughter.

"I think it be best if you explained it to her."

"Thanks." she said sarcastically as she walks away back over to Abbie.

"What? " he shrugs his shoulders "she is _your_ sister." he gives Jenny a plausible smile while walking to where the car is parked. He takes his cell phone from out his pant pocket and calls Crane.

Jenny approaches Abbie with a cheerful smile "Hey- how about we get you to a doctor and make sure everything is alright with you." she did her best not to sound worried.

Abbie eyes Jenny up and down before addressing her concern "I'm not going anywhere until I know where my husband is."

"OKay, well who is your husband?"

"His name is Ichabod Edwards." Jenny's eyes opened wide after Abbie had mentioned that her husband was Crane. More confusion was added to the confusion already stirring in Jenny's head. 

"The last thing I remember was my husband and I being at the beach together. He and I were trying to protect ourselves from a sand storm." her eyes look lost in thought when she brings up the incident at the beach. "How in the hell did I end up here? Unless all of it was a dream or maybe we were under some sort of hypnosis?" she mutters to herself. She looks behind her, her eyes wondering around at the view of her whole entire house. "Who's house is this anyway?" she asked pointing to the door.

"Uh... this is... where you live."

Abbie shakes her head no "Uh uh- I - I don't live here. Never have. I live in Manhattan."

Jenny sighs, bowing her head before looking back up at her. "This is my house. Um... How about we go inside and wait for Frank to return, I think he has a lead on where your husband is." She saw no point in arguing with her, regardless of what she tried to tell Abbie.

"No I'll wait here for your friend to return. So why did you say this was my house?"

Before Jenny could answer, Frank comes running back in their direction with his phone in hand. "Hey, " he said out of breath "I'm going to go pick up Crane. I should be back in thirty minutes. Everything okay here?"

Without saying anything, Jenny quickly grabs Frank's arm. Frank trips over his feet while being dragged over the side again. She looks at him anxiously "I need to tell you something."

"What? What's wrong?"

"Abbie just disclosed with me important info that you should know, especially before you go get Crane, because this is something he's to know as well before he arrives here." she said in her lowest voice.

"Okay... what did she tell you?"

"She told me her husband _is_ Crane."

He pauses for a second, giving her a blank stare, then chuckles, finding it hard to take her words seriously. "Your joking right?"

"Does it look like I'm joking." she lifts her brows, deliberately showing a humorless expression.

"You sure you heard that right?"

"She said Ichabod. How many Ichabod's do you think exist in our town?"

He paused to think "Our Crane?"

"Yes!"

"So she remembers him?"

"I'm not sure. Even though she said his name,  she didn't get his last name right. She called him by a different last name."

"Which was..."

"Edwards." Jenny contorts her face as if speaking the name made it seem foreign to her.

"Did she tell you anything else? What she remembers of him?"

"No. didn't ask. So you better let Crane know what's up."

"Definitely, will do. Thanks for the info."

Frank and Jenny depart. Jenny walks back over to Abbie in a cool manner. "What were you guys talking about over there?" Abbie inquired suspiciously.

"Good news. Frank knows where your husband is and he's leaving now to go get him."

Tears begin to form in Abbie's eyes. She places her hand against her chest gasping with excitement "He does! Is he okay?.... Where is he?.... Is he with this Crane your friend mentioned?"

Jenny gently grabs the side of Abbie's shoulders to calm her down "He's fine.. He is safe, that's all that matters, right?"

"Yes. Yes." she responded nodding.

 

**Cranes House Present Day. Twenty Minutes Before Frank's Call**

Crane slowly gets up from off the floor, grabbing the side of the door frame to balance himself better. He rubs the back of his head, soothing the pain that was inflicted from his fall. Claudette stood in the distance by the woods near the cabin where her presence wouldn't be detected, watching to make sure all went well with her plan. He walks over to the couch, his body swaying with each step. As soon as he makes it he plops his body down on the cushion. Claudette moves close to the opened cabin window, peeking in.

He closes his eyes for a brief minute to gather his thoughts, trying to remember how he ended up on the floor. After taking five minutes to dig through his memory data base, he'd could only remember a strange woman being at his door. A beautiful strange woman, he added to his train of thought, but not anymore beautiful than his Abbie. _A dream perhaps? and if so, then how did  I end up on the floor_ ,,, he pondered. _Maybe I  experienced some sort of dizzy spell and simply fainted._ He concluded that was the reason for him ending up on his floor and the woman was merely a dream.  

A look of disappointment fell on Claudette's face when she overheard Crane's speculation. She had came to his cabin earlier that morning hoping to return his old memories back to him. It was time for him to remember everything about his old life. She used a part of her tears that fell from her eyes that transformed into dust which clearly had no affect on him. The only thing he got out of it was a bad headache from the impact of the fall. She quietly steps away from the cabin and disappears into the forest.

Before Crane had a chance to search for his phone to give Abbie a call, he heard his cell phone vibrate repeatedly. He looked around for it. It took him a second to realize his phone was in the kitchen where he had last left it when he had made tea for himself the night before.

 

 

**Abbie's House Present Day. Thirty Minutes Later**

Abbie looks closely at the car as Frank pulls up in the driveway of the house. Abbie had shared with Jenny how her and her husband met while waiting for Frank and Crane's arrival. As soon as Abbie sees Crane exiting the car, a huge smile appears on her face as she runs lively towards him. As Crane was about to close the passenger door, Abbie secures her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her cheek against his mid back, hugging him as tight as she could. He jerks forward from her aggressive hold on him. Frank couldn't help but chuckle a little at the touching but humorous scene. Crane stood stiff as a board waiting for Abbie to release her grip on him so he'd be able to turn and face this new Abbie Mills. Frank had brought Crane up to speed on Abbie's condition and the assumption that she and he are married. Crane was shocked to hear about Abbie's incident and insisted on doing everything he could to help Frank and Jenny out with finding a way to return Abbie's memories back to her.

After holding on to Crane for dear life the past five minutes, she finally lets go and takes a step back with joy in her eyes. Crane turns around clasping his hands behind his back, looking down at her with a heartfelt appearance in his eyes.

"I'm so glad your okay. I'd thought- I'd thought- when the storm hit, you were gone." she rubs her hand down the side of his arm all the way to his fore arm tenderly. His body jitters a little from her soft, intimate, unexpected touch of affection. "I thought we were done for- and now- and now where here.. in some strange town" she said, strangely looking around the unfamiliar area. "Where were you? How did we end up here?"

Crane clears his throat, unsure how he'd answer her questions "I- I was residing inside a cabin. That's where ..." he looks at Frank, debating in his mind whether or not to continue with the story him and Frank came up with to tell Abbie once they arrived back at Abbie's place. He shook his head as he continues on with his next words "I can't.. I cannot do this to you, Miss Mills. You deserve to know the truth.. " Frank slaps his forehead, shaking it in disapproval. He closes his car door and walks back over to Jenny, not wanting to hang around and hear the crushed, hurtful, rebuttal Crane would most likely receive from Abbie. "I am not your husband, I am your friend, your partner. We have never been in matrimony with one another." Abbie's face of hope turned into an expression of confusion. He feels bad for sharing the truth of the reality that's been played out since their first encounter and cared way to much for Abbie to feed her a false story to appease her mind. If anything, he wants to help her gain her memories back by telling and showing her things that could help trigger her memories into surface. "I am sorry I am not this husband you seek." his hand reaches out to take a hold of hers but she flinches her hand back sorely and places it in her pant pocket.

Her eyes are now filled with lost hope and sadness. "Why- are- you -doing -this?" she asked him.

Frank and Jenny tried not to stare too much at them and brought their focus on objects around them. Jenny once every few minutes would look at the leaves on the ground, shifting her eyes up at the clouds in the sky then back over to Crane and Abbie. Frank darted his eyes from them to the trees, the small flower garden of daises Abbie had planted around the corner of her house, at Jenny's sneakers, then back to Abbie and Crane. They both were trying to make out what they were discussing. They could only go by body language. Jenny observed Abbie flapping her arms frustratingly at her sides, Crane stood upright and stiff, looking down at the ground shamefully. From what they were both observing they suspected Crane and Abbie's conversation wasn't going well.

"What exactly did you tell Crane?"

"I told him exactly what's going on with Abbie and asked him not to tell her anything that will make her think where nut cases."

"Looks like he spilled the beans."

Jenny and Frank continued to watch the two in what looked like a heated discussion but was hard to say for sure. Abbie pushed Crane back an inch. Every time Crane made an attempt to reach for shoulder, which were several, to console her, she would swat his hand away. Frank and Jenny were so engrossed in Abbie and Crane's interaction to the point they were unaware of how much they were staring.. It was as if they were watching a heated scene between two lovers in a romantic flick, all they needed was a box of popcorn. It was hard for them to tear their eyes away from the two witnesses with Abbie flailing her arms and Crane backing up a few steps then gesturing his hands out pleadingly, dong his best to calm her down.

"I know I'm not crazy!" Abbie kicks the ground causing a pinch of dirt to fly up in the air. She folds her arms across her chest, twisting her lips up at the corner of her mouth.

"I never assumed you to be. I cannot imagine how difficult this must be for you to not be able to obtain what was stolen from you. Your memories are your most valuable treasures. If I was to loose all that I know, I would be in every bit as infuriated as you are this moment."

"I didn't forget anything!!" she shouted back. She stormed off. Away from him and the house altogether. Crane went after her and tugged her by the arm pulling her back towards him. She whips around in irritation.

"let me go. I am not going to just stand by -and- and allow myself to keep hearing your lies. You are my husband. We've been married for four years. You and I were at this retreat and now somehow we're here in a town based from a story?? That's crazy! Your name is not Ichabod Crane, _You_ are not the Ichabod Crane from the legend of sleepy Hollow. I am not a cop! I 'm a nurse. I don't know who those people are standing over there.... " she points to Jenny and Frank. "Wait, am I some reality show where someone is playing a prank on me?" she laughs at he notion.

Crane shakes his head no somberly "I wish to tell you this is all make believe but there would be no truth behind my words. Everything I have revealed to you holds true."

"So what your telling me is, your a man from the... 18th century?... that was put under some sleeping enchantment and awakened in this century. Then telling me some prophecy in the bible foretold our roles as witnesses stopping the apocalypse from happening, which is no longer an issue because your son killed a demon named Moloch who was to be the main cause of the end of days and what else?..." she pauses to think for a moment  " ...Oh yeah, I am a lieutenant that works for the Sleepy Hollow police department and there really is a headless horseman." she finishes looking unconvinced. "Is there anything else? ... Are their aliens roaming around this town too?.."

Crane closes his eyes surrendering his voice to keep from loosing his own patience at Abbie's refusal to believe anything he has articulated to her. "Miss Mills, please, allow me to show you proof." He had a great plan, a tactic she told him she used when she had encountered his past self back in the 18 century, to get him to believe she wasn't crazy. He takes out his cell phone, pushes the camera icon and scrolls through his picture gallery. He'd only taken three photos, still getting use to the technology in this century. One photo was of his nose he accidentally took a selfie of, the second photo was taken of his mud stained boots for evidence. One day Crane was waiting for Abbie outside of the police department, he was in close vicinity of a large puddle, unfortunately for him, a car had sped by and driven over the puddle which caused a good amount of muddy water to splash everywhere on his boots. He was irate enough to take a picture of his boots in case he'd seen that car again and show the owner of the vehicle the damage he'd done to his boots. He'd probably ask him in a non confrontational, polite manner to apologize. The third photo was of him and Abbie, a selfie Abbie took on his phone of them sitting close to each other at a baseball game. Once he found the photo he hands it over to Abbie.

She takes the phone from is hand and looks at it carefully "You see. That was taken three weeks ago." Abbie covers her mouth faltering back a step.  

"How is that possible. I was at a seminar in Jersey three weeks ago. Wha-what is this? " She brings the phone closer to her face, studying the image carefully to see if the was picture was photo shopped somehow. "I can't believe what I'm seeing." she looks at Crane with astonishment, unable to find the words to question the photo. He steps close to her side, his arm brushing against hers, viewing the photo along with her.  

 

"What do you think is going on now?" Frank hung his arm on Jenny's inside shoulder leaning into her.

"Who the hell knows but it looks like there okay."  She purposely stepped to the side to cause Franks arm to drop down. She looks at him smirking wickedly.

 

**Much Later in the Afternoon. At a Local Bar**

Abbie is sitting at a bar drinking a vodka tonic. She takes two quick sips and almost spits out her drink when she eyes Claudette walking casually inside.

Earlier, after seeing the proof Crane had shown her, she needed to take time out for herself to process all the information that was fed to her in the short amount of time she had spoken with Crane. It was hard enough for her to see her husband acting as a complete different person with no recollection of the life they lived together.

He offered his assistance with her struggle comprehending all the information that was thrown at her feet. She refused his help and chose to be taken to the nearest hotel in town to gather her thoughts. Crane of course, disagreed with her choice to be alone but remembered in the back of his mind what Frank advised him not to do, and crowding her would not be the best idea if he was to gain her trust.

Jenny was unsettled about the idea of Abbie being alone in her condition as well but couldn't force her sister to stay where she felt uncomfortable, regardless of how much she wanted to keep her sister close and watch over her, Abbie's comfort was more important to Jenny. Crane had asked Frank and Jenny to stay behind seeing how Abbie is more familiar and partially at ease with him. Frank and Jenny understood. He assured Jenny that he'd see to Abbie's safety and keep them up to date on Abbie's status.

"Hello Abbie" Claudette said as she takes a seat next to her. She signals the bartender to come over take her drink order. "I'll have what she's having" she said pointing to Abbie's glass. She grabs her purse, placing it on her lap and pulls out her credit card. "oh and keep my tab open" she said handing her card to the bartender. He nods and walks away. She looks back at Abbie kindly smiling at her. "I hoped things would have panned out the way I planned it."

Abbie was speechless for a few minutes. All she could do was stare wide eyed at the person she never thought she'd see again. "How-how did you get here? The last time I seen you was at the beach, in Maui. and then you... disappeared. What happened?"

"I needed to test the two of you. To see if you and your husband still had a spark of love for one another. To know for certain my plan would work on the two of you. You both passed when I saw how the both of you pulled together during that frightening dust storm. He was willing to sacrifice himself to save you. Now that's true love. You took that journey all the way to Maui to rekindle what was lost because your love for him was too important to be over seen through his eyes. Unfortunately when I gave back both you and your husbands memories, it only succeeded with just you Abbie."

"Wait, so I'm not crazy. This man who calls himself Ichabod Crane I had encountered really is my husband."

"Yes. He just doesn't remember who he truly is."

"How come it didn't work on him?"

"The truth," she sighs " which you are not going to like what I have to say. The truth is Abbie, your husband is much happier living the life of Ichabod Crane, even though Ichabod Crane's life dealt with a lot of hardship, he still found this Ichabod's life more appeasing than his old one. The reason why his mind didn't allow the memory retrieval enchantment to work. The Ichabod Edwards you knew did love you but didn't have the heart to tell you he truly didn't believe anything could had revived the joy he use to feel in the marriage.

Abbie's eyes look down sorrowfully at her fingers as they fiddle around each other "I am so sorry Abbie" Claudette places her hand on Abbie's shoulder comforting her. "All is not lost, there is a way you both can still be happy with each other but it is you that has to be willing to make the sacrifice this time."

Abbie lifts her eyes up at Claudette anxiously "Tell me." she asked in hope, looking at her intensely.

"The good thing about this Ichabod Crane is the fact he has fallen in love with your other character. The one you chose to be when I had asked the two of you back at the beach to think of a character you'd both like to be if you could live out another life. Unfortunately, that's the person you'd have to revert back to in order to obtain the life you seek with your husband."

"There's no other way?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I've been watching over the two of you for quite some time.  I've seen too much hard ache you both had gone through during your marriage. I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this." She shakes her head solemnly.

"What do you mean you've been watching over us? I don't understand."

"If I told you the truth, you wouldn't believe me."

"Try me." Abbie shoves her glass to the side and positions her body to face Claudette's direction, giving her all of her attention.

"You asked what happened that day at the beach when the storm hit the two of you. You were both sitting in the same spot, by the fire. I was still there sitting by the fire as well. You were both in a deep trance I had to put you and your husband under. There never was a storm Abbie. I was able to see into your minds. I chose to create a world for the two of you to live in under different identities. You are both in the story, well my version of the story."

"Wait, wait, wait" Abbie waves her hand in the air "Wait.... we somehow are in a story book? Now you lost me"

"No. Not in a book. In a story that I altered from the book "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"."

"I'm still confused about how we both ended up in this town."

"I sent you both here."

"Do you know how crazy all of this sounds?" Abbie turns her whole entire body away from Claudette and signals the bartender to come over so she can pay her bill.

"Abbie, I know it sounds crazy to you but I speak the truth. I have watched over you and Ichabod since you were both children. Praying you two would cross paths. You are both destined to be together."

"So are you our guardian angel or something?" she laughs at the idea as she takes a drink.

"I suppose you could say that."

Abbie coughs, almost choking on her drink. "I was joking. There's no such thing."

"Isn't there?" Claudette countered.

The bartender came over with the bill and places it on the counter in front of Abbie's glass. "I don't believe in angels." she slides the bill over to her and reaches to grab her wallet.

"Leave it. It's on me. " Claudette signals the bartender over to her. He walks up. "Put her drink on my tab." he nods and walks away.

"Thanks." she said with uncertainty.

"I can prove to you I am what I say I am. " she snaps her fingers and the bartender collapses down to the floor passed out.

Abbie stood up her stool, hovering over the bar counter, staring at an unconsciousness bartender. She sat back down on her seat and chucked down the rest of her vodka tonic, slamming it back down on the counter surface.

"Do you have wings too?" she asked.

Claudette laughs, amused by her comment "I don't.. but I am able to do many things humans cannot." Claudette takes a sip of her drink and snaps her fingers for her credit card and a revised bill to appear in front of her.

"Like force two human beings in a world they didn't ask to be in?"

"If that is how you wish to perceive it."  She pays her tab and turns to slide off her stool. "I know it's a tough decision you must make. If you choose not to go back to your alternate identity, then, this Ichabod Crane will still want to get to know the different you and help you through your so called "memory loss" that he believes you are suffering from... and in time he will grow to accept your new persona and possibly still grow a fond affection towards you. Either way, you'll win his heart. Here," she puts her purse down on her seat and opens it to find something in particular. "....I'm going to give you something once you've made your decision so you'll know how to get in touch with me."

"I know, I know.. Your going to give me some kind of angelic medallion, or magical trinket to summon you."

Claudette pulls out a rectangular shaped paper "No, I was going to give you my business card." she hands it over to Abbie. Abbie takes it from her fingers and skims it over, looking at her cell phone number along with her first name and her job position. " Call me when your ready." she pats Abbie on the shoulder as she heads towards the exit.  Abbie puts the card down next to her glass thinking about Claudette's offer.

She took the time she needed to weigh the pro and cons of returning back to her other identity. There was a lot of memories she'd be loosing, like memories of her mother, her father, her friends, her childhood. Not only she'd forget everything, she'd also would be giving up her life in exchange for another. Was it worth it to her she kept asking herself. Was being happy with the man she loved worth giving up her entire life, her entire identity. She remembered seeing the disappointment in his eyes when he was unable to succeed in bringing back any part of her old memories,  hoping she'd remember who she was to him.

Hours and hours went by. Abbie went back to the hotel and laid on her bed looking up at the ceiling, contemplating and contemplating what would be the wise decision to make. Where would her own happiness stand, it wouldn't matter where it would stand if she were to choose to be her other persona. She'd forget every emotion and feeling in her heart. Tears slowly emerged sliding out the corner of her eyes thinking about all that she'd give up in trade for true happiness and true love. Abbie sits up and picks up her cell from off of the table by her bed and pulls Claudette's card out from her pocket. She makes her call.

 

**Two Hours Later. Night Fall**

Crane, Jenny and Frank are at the cabin. Everyone pacing around the living room in their own direction, worried about Abbie's safety.  Jenny stops pacing when she hears a faint knock on the door. She scurries over to get it. As she opens the door, Abbie stands at the threshold looking dazed and at a loss.

"Abbie?" Jenny said surprisingly. Abbie walks in, Crane and Frank stop their pacing looking fixedly at her.

"why are you all looking at me like as if I have eight arms.?"

"Well it's just- We'd thought you'd be at your hotel and not come wandering here, wait.. how did you know where this cabin was?" Frank asked in bewilderment.

"Really frank? I'm in no mood for games. I just woke up from the worse head ache. I came by to see if Crane, if you wanted to grab a bite?" she asked looking at Crane. "but now that the whole gang is here, I might as well invite you all.'

They all look at her with shocked eyes, unable to process how fast her memories had returned, assuming her memories did return.

"Of-of course Miss Mills. We would be delighted to fill our stomachs. I'm quite famished. "

"Wait, Abbie, you remember who we are?" Jenny asked, stepping closer to her sister.

"Of course, why wouldn't I?" she looks back and forth between Jenny, frank and Crane perplexed.

Jenny let out a sigh of relief, along with Crane. "It's-It's not important." she walks even closer to Abbie and pulled her in embracing her in a close hug.

Abbie hesitantly lifts her arms out to the side and slowly wraps them around Jenny's waist. " Uh... Jenny... Is everything okay?"

"Yes. yes. It is now." Jenny let go of Abbie and took a step back to cherish the site of seeing her sister back to normal. 

They all headed out the door except for Crane and Abbie. She was about to step over the threshold when Crane pulled her back by her arm. "Miss Mills, is it... truly you?" He looks closely into her eyes.

"Yes." she looks back him strangely. "You wanna tell me what's going on? Why everyone is questioning me?"

"As Miss Jenny stated. It is of no matter. You're back.. and that's all that matters."

"Oookay, Is this about the other night? I would actually like to talk about that with you."

He holds up his hand, halting her from finishing her thought "It is of no importance. If you choose to disregard our actions and pretend as if nothing happened, I will have no ill feelings towards you."

"No, Crane, what I was going to say was... I don't regret what happened. In fact, I would like to explore our feelings for each other. I can't just ignore the fact we had sex in your bathroom ... and I also can't ignore the fact that I do care deeply for you. Our bond goes beyond friendship, it means way more to me in my heart and I know you feel the same. I could tell from the one night you had asked me to stay and read to you. I know damn well you could have easily fallen asleep with out my help." she chuckles. "I feel something emotionally that keeps me connected to you- something was missing in my life until I met you, you're what's missing in my life Crane." she encircles her arms around his waist and holds him close to her body. He holds her just as close in return, resting the side of his head atop of hers.

"I am glad to have you In my life as well Abbie. I truly do not regret our night together and would love to spend another by your side." he whispered in her hair.

She looks back at him, he lifts his head, looking back down at her with intense loving emotion in his eyes. He cups her face binging his lips close to hers, kissing her with sweet passion.

Claudette stands in the distance by the cabin smiling, turns around and walks towards the woods, fading away into the moonlight.

 


End file.
